I'm not sure if this is black spot/fungal problem etc. I moved to this house 5 years ago and have managed to keep the roses alive, but would love to learn to help them thrive. There are two bushes with this problem. I have sprayed the stalks with a neem oil/dawn dish soap mixture but I'm wondering if I should just cut them back to the ground? Or do something else? I appreciate all answers/feedback. I have googled my heart out and am not sure what steps I should be taking. :sigh:
TIA!

This is one of the beauties - it's so beautiful I really want to keep it going!! by the end of the summer (WITH cuttings for vases taken) it's about 6" tall. When we first moved here it reached over 7 feet tall. This photo was taken in mid-June the year we moved in. I pruned the base wood down and have been trying to keep the whole bush below 6' so I can reach to dead head.

The smaller one has these flowers (I can't find a photo of the whole bush)


Pruning suggestions also welcome - I usually prune it back to 6-8 stalks. The stalks were all budding above the cut sites before I pruned this year so hopefully they are still alive. I have read "cut away anything larger than your thumb diameter" which means I usually leave either new stalks from last year or 2 year old stalks on this one. I wasn't sure if I should be keeping older/thicker stems, cutting higher up to keep some of the Y shapes vs just having sticks, etc. The "thumb rule" is misleading bc different bushes have different sizes for stalks. It's too late to help this years prune (though I can go shorter), but I'll be taking notes for next year!

The large bush "cane" (what do i call them?) are at tallest at my hip level (i'm 5'7") and shortest about mid-thigh. This is taller than I had them last year. The smaller one ranges from mid thigh to just over hip height (also taller than I did last year; I've been experimenting every year but it occurs to me that obtaining input from a person in the know is a better idea). (For the large bush at the far left there's a cane at an awward angle - it will be pruned to have a sprout going out to the left once it's got budgs on it)

I couldn't tell which canes were coming from the main "base" wood and which were suckers. I haven't paid much attention in the past, but I'm wondering if I should be making sure to leave the canes from the base and eliminate suckers? I'm in the process of getting out the evil tall gras build-up so I can see what comes from where. (Didn't think of this issue when I cut them back oops)

When pruning the first thing you want to do is take off any dead wood. Start at the top of a cane and snip off about an inch or so and look at the inside. If it is brown, tan or dried up looking it is dead. Go down another few inches and snip again. If it is still brown keep going down the cane in small amounts until the center is white or greenish and looks moist. From there down it should be alive. If you have gone all the way down the cane to the crown and found no white or green moist center then take the whole cane off as close to the crown as possible without injuring the crown. Do this with each cane. When that is done stand back and look at the shape of the bush and decide from there what else you want to take off for shaping. When you make your shaping cuts try to cut at a 45 degree angle about a quarter inch above an outward facing leaf node. Those are the points where new growth will begin. I don't worry about the speckled canes. It is usually from the cold or can be over wintering black spot. You've already used the neem oil so it should not be a problem. It usually disappears once it's warmed up.

Perfect advise Seil!

We are lucky to have Seil here - always so willing to share her knowledge and experience!

@seilMI: thank you so much!! I will do that for pruning going forward

MargieNY said:Perfect advise Seil!

Oops. I don't know what acorns are. I made sure to give one to the reply from Seil LOL

@seilMI I got to work today at clearing the evil grass away from the crown. Look at the size of this beast! I'm so blessed to have inherited roses with this house :D. (There were 5 bushes when we moved in and I downsized to 3, and added a mini out back 2 years ago and a new red one last summer). I'll spray the crown with the neem mix after it's cleared. I was always told roses are "difficult" but that was when I lived in humid Ontario. We moved to the Okanagan 5 years ago and they seem to LOVE it here (which is amazing because I love them... I don't have any kids so my nurturing goes into the plants I grow and the dogs that I walk hehe)

LindsayNewb said:
Oops. I don't know what acorns are. I made sure to give one to the reply from Seil LOL

The acorns are used like "tips'" (acknowledgements). You send them to members because you like their post or their photo. The acorns are also used to buy raffle tickets. We have raffles here a couple times a year. For every 5 acorns you can purchase a raffle ticket. The prizes are fantastic! I am sending you back the acorn and few extras. Have fun.

Thank you everyone for the kind words. Just trying to be helpful.

Linda, yes do pull out the grass but I would also pull that stone mulch away a little bit too. Stone can be a source of reflected heat in the summer.

@seilMI I will do, thanks!

@MargieNY
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